The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1887-12-15
From the Columbia Daily Record1

raul llemphiIl and II. Il. Mcclure of ChCS.
ter, the Association repaired to the Hall of
the uousc of Representatives. The mem
bers passed in 10y couples. the procession
being headed by the Hon. VIM. III. Parker,
the retiring President of the Association,
and the distinguished orator of the occa
sion, the 1Iou. Joel Prentiss Bishop Of
Massachusetts. They were followed by
other distinguished members of the Bar.
In few minutes every chair in the House
was occupied, not Il few of them by ladies
On the Speakers platform were the
officers of the Association, prominent mem
bcrs of the State and Federal judiciary and
other honorcd guests.
President Parker called the meeting to
order and introduced Mr. Bishop. Mr.
Bishop is one of the most distinguished
writer's on common law ih the United
States. His Grafton last evening is the
first that he has delivered in forty years
This long absence from the hustings, how
ever, has evidently not impaired his power
Inc following Is an imperfect synopsis OF
MIR. Bishops Grafton.
-u'. President and Gentlemen Of tie 1$So.
ciUti0n:
Responding to your kind invitation to
address you, at period Of rest from your
severe intellectual labors, may seem un-
grateful when | ask you to accompany the
thoughts L am to express with your best
and most earnest thinking. 1t would be
supcriluouS to request you further, Us |
might IL you were OF any other profession,
to lay aside prCConCcptions and look at the
questions before us as for the first time.
But he who has learned and practiCCd the
common law is familiar with the courses
of fresh Investigations, and with reform
ing his opinions whenever truth requires.
The topic will be, 1.-The Common Law
us System of Reasoning, How aud Why
Essential to Good Government, What lis
Pcrils, and How Avcrted."
Inc subject Is too vast for full treat
mcnt. But | do not forget that I am adj
dressing gentlemen accustomed TO thinking
and reasoning, therefore capable Of sup
plying for themselves my omissions.
Your familiarity with the common law
renders needless any defining Of it by me.
But, looking at il as II system Of reason.
let me set ii for moment before YOU be
side the civil law.
Mr. Bishop then showed how the Roman
law became system Of reasoning, ditlcr
ing from ours in little else than the form of
its growth and development. AS in the
countries governed hy the common law, so
in those governed by the Roman. the
statesmen and legislators were largely law
ycrs: that is, they were persons accus,
toned to reasoning upon legal, or govern.
mental, things.
In the economy of human life and asso.
cation, VIC have, rs the fuirCst gifts of God.
love, religion and reason. | need not say
that the last is the greatest, for it includes |
the other two. Where reason. pure and
perfect, prevails, all other good dwclls; .
and the place whence it is bunishud is,
whether i'll this world OF the next. hell
Let us reason together is the command
OF Him from whom both we and reason
proceeded. There is false reasoning; but
true reasoning conducts to all light, to all
prosperity, to all happiness.
While Rome was controlled by men who
were accustomed to reasoning she grew
and prospcrcd. But after many years, the
eternal longing and signing for lalincss, the
same which has wrought immense mis-
chief in our jurisprudence, and which now
threatens to destroy ii, prevailed. Justin
ian, whom it is the fashion with us to adore,
finished the work of mischief Haynr
collected what he chose to preserve of the
writings OF the uliStS, he consigned the
remainder to oblivion.
The world presents now an exact paral-
lei to this. There is little island upon
which the angel of light ns she flew over it
dropped spark. Spurning ,luStinian's
folly, she accepted reason, named it the
common law, and rose to Il power and
glory which mock the very brightest of
Roman dreams. Her navicS rule the seas,
her colonies watch the sun in all his course
around the world, her glory threw off in
one OF her flights these United States OF
America. But the longing for laZiucss has
OF late taken possession of her. And she
threatens to substitute acts of Parliament
Tor all her common law of reason; and
make it possible for all sluggartls and fools
TO practice at her bar and preside in her
courts If she does it, it requires no gift
OF prophecy to forcscc that her encompass
ing seas Will weep upon the dripping rocks
around that little island a more mOimful
requiem to her cntombCd empire than was
ever before sung over fallen greatness and
glory.
III you ascend the highest tower OF noun.
tam peak, and in the loudcSt voice ask the
earth why 1t moves upon its axis, it can
give you no answer. 1t docs not know. In
The earlier ages man did not know. Vet
from the beginning it moved as it docs
now. Go TO the fishes and birds, and the
same facts reveal themselves
fOllOWng instinct, or conscience, or
whatever else we call it, man, while living
us all must in society, establishes various
customs and usages. After they become
universal the court takes judicial cogri
Zancc of thcm rs law. Especially it takes
judicial cogniZancc of reason, and of the
fact that directly or indirectly it is the
highest guide of man. 1t thus becomes
The highest guide of the court, so that our
law is dcnominatcd system of reason.
1T accepts Judicial decisions as guides for
luturc cases, because reason teaches the i'm.
pOrtanCc Of stability and uniformity.
The process Of reasoning was then illus
tratCd and it was shown that the laws pro.
gress consists in discoveries Of its lust and
true reasons and in correcting Old mistakes
as to them.
In method and results the cOmmon-law
lawyer resembles the scientist in nature
The scientist is constantly adding TO our
knowledge Of what always existed, and
the physical world Of man is progressing
SO it is under the common law. The law
yer discovers, one by one, the laws which |
always existed, though, il may be. never
before understood, pertaining to the gov.
ernmcnt OF men in communities. Should |
we abolish our common law of reason by
merging it in COdiliCatiOn, as many among
us seek to do, we should not be brought |
where continental Europe now is, but
rather to that bath of night which JUS
tlnlan prepared for her.
The most familiar thing in our common
aw is its immense and rapidly increasing
mass of judicial decisions. However the
words of one Judge may be concurrcd In